


The Third Wave

by Warriorgirl1234



Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Blood, Gen, More tags to be added!, Supernatural Elements, depictions of panic attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 19:53:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17689823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warriorgirl1234/pseuds/Warriorgirl1234
Summary: The dragons of the Wispwillow Grotto awake to find something is lurking in the water, something ancient and powerful





	The Third Wave

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the Sornieth Zodiac Event! Forum here: http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2573843/1

There was always a sort of strange going on in the Grotto, but those things went ignored. If you saw weird figures late at night, you went on your way. If someone's eyes suddenly looked like snakes, you turned the other cheek. If you saw the half-dead dragon on the edge of the territory, you got out of there as fast as you could and never mention it to anyone.

But today was different.

When Acacia got up before the early rays of dawn and stumbled to her boat, the last thing she expected to see where the Grotto’s two resident water nymphs hanging about. Though they liked to hang around her boat, they never really came up to shore, and to top it off, they looked scared. Acacia shifted her hat and sighed, fully expecting the pair to be overreacting about something before she saw just what they were staring at.

The water of the Grotto, normally a beautiful clear turquoise, was now dark and slimy. Acacia quickened her pace and scampered down to the beachfront. The two at the beach finally noticed her, and Drogarati waved Acacia over.

Drogarati was knelt on the beach, and arm around Melissani and an hand on her trident. Her normally stoic and unreadable face was now filled with fear.

Melissani was much worse however. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she was gently rocking herself back and forth. Her usual cheery smile was gone, replaced by a look of pure terror. She didn’t even seem to register Acacia approaching.

“What happened?” Acacia demanded, also putting and arm around Melissani.

“I-I don’t know.” Drogarati sounded on the verge of crying. “One second everything’s fine, the next Meli’s screaming and the water turned into... _that_.” She gestured over to the water.

Acacia turned her attention to the other nymph, gently patting her on the shoulder.

“Meli? What happened, are you hurt?” She asked, concerned.

Melissani’s whole body shook and her wide eyes were fixed on the water.

“ _Tunannu…_ ” She whispered, her breathing becoming laboured and uneven.

Acacia suddenly pulled Melissani to her feet, Drogarati nearly falling over because of it.

“Get her to the infirmary, _now_.” Her tone implied Drogarati had no choice in the matter. The nymph nodded and gently guided her friend away.

Acacia turned her attention to the water, cautiously stepping onto the small dock that held only a single boat. The white noise of the waves lapping at the shore was gone, the squeak of the old dock wood the only sound in the Grotto. Acacia knelt, hesitating for a moment before sticking her hand in the water.

The weird substance sent a shock through Acacia, and she reeled her hand back. Her whole body felt panicked, and suddenly it was though she couldn’t breathe. Images flashed in her mind of a violent maelstrom, something evil lurking within, and she let out a breathy whisper.

“ _Tunannu…_ ”

She pushed herself back to her feet with all her might, taking fearful steps back until she was fully sprinting away from the bay. The rest of the clan needed to know, something was lurking below the waves. Acacia paused for a moment when she reached the top of the beachwall, what was she supposed to do? She could run to her mothers, she’d always felt safe with them. No, she needed to so something, she couldn’t hide. Instead of running and hiding, she started sprinting to the clan’s library, home of the only dragon Acacia knew of who knew anything that pertained to magic and the things it caused.

 --

Sycamore awoke early that morning, earlier than he had in years. Strange images plagued his dreams; images of a maelstrom, icy and cold, with something lurking just out of sight. He shuddered. His nightmares were unusual, but that was something else entirely.

The librarian was just reaching for a teacup when he heard a loud pounding on his door before it was nearly thrown off the hinges. Surprisingly, Acacia stood in the doorway, heaving loudly and looking like a wild animal.

“You know magic, I need help.” Always a woman of few words, though it could be she was nearly out of breath.

Sycamore stared, eyes wide and hands hovering just above his teacup.

“What… seems to be the matter?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow. Acacia didn’t respond. Instead, she marched over, grabbed Sycamore’s hand, and dragged him out of the library.

“Acacia! What’s going on?” Sycamore tried to protest and get his arm free, but Acacia was much stronger than him, much to his dismay.

They finally stopped at the beachwall, and Acacia gestured to the Grotto. Sycamore fell silent, mouth agape and eyes wide.

“What… what happened?” He asked after a few minutes of silence. The fisherwoman clenched her fists and curled in on herself.

“I don’t know, I came out here maybe 15 minutes ago and it was like this, and something happened to Melissani…” Her voice trailed off. Though she tried to appear tough, she was still barely an adult.

The part about Melissani caught Sycamore’s attention.

“What happened to her? Are her and Drogarati alright?” He questioned, putting a hand on Acacia’s shoulder.

“I don’t know!” She sounded on the verge of tears. “Rati said she saw something down there, something that scared her pretty badly.” Her fists clenched tighter, drops of blood running down her palms. “She only said one thing, and when I touched that stuff, I saw something and somehow said the same thing.”

Her breathing started to become quick and uneven and she curled further into herself. Sycamore tightened his grip on her shoulder.

“Acacia, breathe, you need to breathe.” He reminded. She nodded and took a few deep breaths before wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. Though she was still shaking, she appeared collected for the moment.

“What did you see when you touched the water?” He asked, keeping a grip on her.

“I saw a maelstrom. I could _feel_ something under the water, trapped and wanted to be free.” Her whole body shuddered. “ _Tunanuu_ … that’s what I said, and what Meli only said.”

Something in the back of Sycamore’s mind clicked. He recalled a letter received from a Clan Analemma detailing something about a being called an astral. One was thought to be in the area, and capable of doing strange things. Perhaps he ought to give that letter another read through…

Sycamore shook his head. He made a mental note to find the letter later, but right now he needed to know what Melissani had seen.

“Alright, I believe I have some idea of what’s going on, maybe. You should talk to Stockings or Namine, have them keep everyone away from the beach.” He instructed, parental instincts kicking in.

Acacia nodded, unclenching her fists. Her palms now had small, bloody, crescent moons.

“I’ll go check on Melissani and see how she’s doing.” He smiled, trying to reassure Acacia that things would be okay. She took a deep breath before ducking away and jogging off to find the guard captains.

Sycamore’s demeanour shifted suddenly. His smile vanished and he clutched his chest, a wave of fear washing over him. He attempted to compose himself, before giving up and running off towards the infirmary.


End file.
